As we reflect on the joys of Thanksgiving, it’s crucial to address a potential health concern that can arise during this festive season.
From poor refrigeration to how long leftover turkey should be kept, this MedDigest article will take a deep dive into how to prevent, recognize early symptoms, and some remedies of food poisoning during and after Thanksgiving.
Every year in the U.S., an estimated one in six people (or 48 million) get sick and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The top foodborne pathogens in the U.S. are salmonella, norovirus, clostridium perfringens, campylobacter, and staphylococcus aureus, per the CDC. These can contaminate many foods, including Thanksgiving favorites like turkey, especially if food isn’t handled or cooked properly.
What is Food Poisoning?
📌Also known as foodborne illnesses, food poisoning occurs when you eat something contaminated with disease-causing germs, including bacteria, parasites, or viruses, and are left with an unpleasant bout of gastrointestinal symptoms.
📌It’s not usually serious and most people get better within a few days without treatment.
📌Outbreaks of foodborne illness can and do happen around Thanksgiving.
📌Children under 5, adults over 65, people with weakened immune systems and pregnant women are at the highest risk.
📌Clostridium perfringens, which can be found on raw meat (e.g., turkey, beef) and poultry, is the second most common bacterial cause of foodborne illness in the United States.
📌Also known as the “stomach flu,” norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the U.S., according to the CDC, and peaks during the winter months.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Food Poisoning?
It can take anywhere from several hours to a few days after consuming contaminated food to develop symptoms. For clostridium perfringens, symptoms typically begin within six to 24 hours after eating contaminated food, but for salmonella, symptoms can start anywhere from six hours to six days after. The most common symptoms of foodborne illness are:
- Upset stomach
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain and cramps
- Fever
- Headache
How to Prevent Food Poisoning Around Thanksgiving
It’s important that cooks follow these four steps to minimize the risk of foodborne illness and ensure their Thanksgiving dinner is safe and healthy
- Clean your hands before, during and after cooking, and sanitize utensils, cutting boards and countertops often.
- Separate raw meat, poultry and seafood and eggs from other foods while storing in the refrigerator, preparing dishes, and cooking
- Cook all food to a safe internal temperature using a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the food.
- Poultry and casseroles should be cooked to 165° F, eggs to 160°, and beef and seafood to 145°, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- Leftovers: refrigerated leftovers will only last three or four days. Freezing will help your leftovers keep longer, but always make sure to reheat food to 165° F to prevent illness.
Take Care of Leftovers
Given that the feast is three days past, I’ll like to dwell a little more on leftovers. Follow these tips to safely store and reheat your leftovers:
- Refrigerate leftovers at 40°F or colder within 2 hours of cooking to prevent food poisoning. Refrigerate leftovers that have been exposed to temperatures higher than 90°F within 1 hour.
- If you are refrigerating a big cut of meat, such as a turkey or roast, cut it into smaller pieces so they cool quickly. You do not need to wait until food is cool to store it in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Eat cooked turkey and dishes made with it, such as soup or a casserole, within 3 to 4 days. Freeze leftovers to store them for longer.
- Reheat all leftovers to at least 165°F before serving or eating.
What Are the Complications of Food Poisoning?
Most people have mild illnesses, but some infections spread by food are serious or even life-threatening. Some people may need to be hospitalized, and some illnesses lead to other health problems.
Complications of foodborne illness include dehydration, hemolytic uremic syndrome (when the small blood vessels in the kidneys are damaged), and long-term health issues, like Guillain Barre syndrome (a serious neuromuscular sequela). In rare cases, severe food poisoning is deadly.
What to Do if You Have Food Poisoning
Most of the time, you will get better in a couple of days. The goal is to ease symptoms and make sure your body has the proper amount of fluids.
Rehydration. In most cases, you can manage food poisoning at home by simply staying hydrated. You lose a lot of fluids through diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. Staying hydrated is the most important thing you can do to support your body while it does its work.
Rest. It’s also important for those with food poisoning to get plenty of rest.
Avoid caffeine, which may irritate the digestive tract, and compounds dehydration.
Can You Take Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medications?
Over-the-counter (OTC) medications such as loperamide (Imodium) and Pepto-Bismol can help you manage diarrhea and suppress nausea.
Word of caution though: you should check with a doctor before using these medications, as the body uses vomiting and diarrhea to rid the system of the toxin.
Also, using these medications could mask the severity of the illness and cause you to delay seeking expert treatment. Furthermore, loperamide is to be avoided in bloody diarrhea as it worsens symptoms in such cases.
When to See a Doctor
Adults should see a health care provider or get emergency care if the following occur:
- Nervous system symptoms, such as blurry vision, muscle weakness and tingling of skin.
- Changes in thinking or behavior.
- Fever of 103° F (39.4° C).
- Vomiting often.
- Diarrhea that lasts more than three days.
- Symptoms of dehydration — excessive thirst, dry mouth, little or no urination, severe weakness, dizziness, or lightheadedness, just to name a few.
